Toy vehicle tracksets are well known and are well established in the art and are provided in a wide variety of designs and function. The track portion of most current tracksets utilizes trackways formed of extended lengths of molded plastic flexible track portions and interlocking or cooperating connectors allowing the track portions to be formed into the desired shape of track. Others, however, still utilize relatively rigid track structures such as trackways formed of wood or paper based materials as well as large scale molded plastic trackways. In some trackways, a plurality of electrical conductors are situated upon the track and are coupled to a source of operative power. In such toy vehicle tracksets, the toy vehicles utilized employ power pickup contacts and an onboard motor and drive mechanism. In one such toy vehicle trackset, the conductors are supported within a center slot running the length of the trackway. Such tracksets have been known generally as "slot cars". Still other toy vehicle tracksets utilize vehicles having an internal battery power source together with an electric motor to provide propulsion.
Despite the progress in various types of powered toy vehicles for tracksets, the majority of such tracksets still utilize unpowered free-wheeling cars. The method of propulsion for free-wheeling unpowered cars with tracksets is subject to substantial variety. Probably the simplest propulsion is found in a trackset ramp which utilizes gravity and a severe slope in the trackset to launch the vehicles from a higher position to a lower position. Still other toy vehicle tracksets utilize spring-driven launchers often employing a moving ram which is spring-powered and which fires a toy vehicle from a launch position by impact. Still others utilize a speed booster or accelerator within the trackway. Such boosters are usually provided by a pair of soft resilient disk-like wheels placed on opposed sides of a trackway portion which are rotated at high speed to engage the vehicle passing therethrough and impart additional energy to the vehicle.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,524,030 issued to Ostendorff, et al. sets forth a RAPID ACTION TOY VEHICLE LAUNCHER having a generally planar base supporting a pair of angularly disposed downwardly sloped feed ramps having a plurality of vehicles thereon. A pivotally supported carriage defines a pair of angularly disposed launching stations for receiving toy vehicles alternately between the feed ramps. A movable spring-loaded striker is operative in response to handle motion to strike the toy vehicle positioned within the launch position and to drive the vehicle outwardly from the launcher.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,146,991 issued to Sano sets forth a TOY TRACKWAY having a pair of side-by-side track portions, one of which utilizes a spring-driven launcher at one end thereof. The side-by-side track portions are coupled by a double vertical loop arranged such that a launched toy vehicle traverses one track portion to enter the double loop and exits the double loop to traverse the remaining track portion in the opposite direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,642,066 issued to Kennedy, et al. sets forth a TOY VEHICLE LAUNCHER AND SOUND GENERATOR having a hexagonal magazine rotatably mounted on a frame and having a plurality of pairs of open-ended chambers therein. As the magazine is rotated, toy vehicles are shifted from the magazine to a launch position. A spring-loaded ram is supported in the base and is operative to launch an aligned vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,923 issued to Hippely, et al. sets forth a TOY VEHICLE PLAYSET FOR THERMOCHROMIC VEHICLES having a trackset including a vehicle launcher, a straight track portion, a vertical loop track portion, a water tank and an exit trackway. Toy vehicles having thermochromic finishes thereon are launched from the launcher traversing the track and the loop and passing through the temperature changing water bath and thereafter exiting the trackset.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,267,661 issued to Hanson sets forth a MULTIPLE VEHICLE LAUNCHER having a flower-like rotating magazine positioned above a downwardly sloped trackway. The magazine provides support for a radially positioned plurality of toy vehicles and as the magazine rotates, each toy vehicle is launched down the trackway when it comes into alignment therewith.
While the foregoing described prior art devices have improved the art and in some instances enjoyed commercial success, there remains nonetheless a continuing need in the art for evermore improved amusing and cost efficient toy vehicle tracksets.